Deodorizing glove holder for athletic gloves and other equipment

ABSTRACT

A deodorizer for insertion into athletic and other equipment, having an outer housing that is infused with an antimicrobial agent and that has ventilation holes, and containing a moisture absorbing deodorizer within the outer housing. The deodorizer absorbs moisture that allows bacteria to grow and the antimicrobial infused outer housing kills existing bacteria, thereby reducing bacteria and odor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of application Ser. No.: 15/626,257 filed Jun.19, 2017, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.: 14/856,616filed Sep. 17, 2015, which claims benefit of provisional applications62/052,110, filed Sep. 18, 2014, and 62/147,837, filed Apr. 15, 2015,the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of deodorizers forathletic gloves, and has uses in other athletic equipment as well asnon-athletic gloves and shoes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Protective gloves for sports such as Lacrosse, Hockey and Boxing areexpensive and once properly broken-in, they can be difficult to replace.When gloves that are primarily made from leathers are dampened withsweat from frequent use they produce an odor. Bacteria in the rightenvironment will grow rapidly. Odor is created when bacteria degradesthe sweat components. Gloves of this type are difficult to clean and ridof odor causing bacteria and mildew without compromising the equipmentitself. If you wash leather gloves, the integrity of the shape isdifficult to maintain. Therefore most athletes just consider the smellto be something they have to deal with.

Some existing products are designed only to deodorize, and use, forexample, a cedar filling that is not replaceable. Once the cedar fillinghas lost its ability to deodorize, the user must replace the entireunit. This approach is bulky, heavy and has no reasonable way ofattaching the gloves to the product, therefor preventing it from being aviable glove carrier. This approach is also difficult to attach to otherathletic equipment such as a lacrosse stick. Other approaches in thepast are not portable and/or require batteries or an alternate powersource. And yet other approaches use deodorant inside a housing to maskthe odors, without effectively attacking the source of the odors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a deodorizinginsert that kills the bacteria that causes odors in sports equipment aswell as other shoes and gloves. It is a further object of the inventionto provide a deodorizing insert that absorbs moisture to reduce thechance of bacterial growth within the sports equipment.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, an outer housing includesremovable and replaceable deodorizers, such as silica to absorbmoisture. The outer housing includes ventilation holes and is infusedwith silver ions or other antimicrobial treatments to kill odor causingbacteria.

In a preferred embodiment, each insert is shaped as a stick and hasremovable and replaceable deodorizers in the shaft of the perforatedsticks. There is a handle connecting the two sticks along with a wristguard clip designed to secure the gloves to the inserts. The gloves canthen be stored in the equipment bag or using the handle and in theexample of Lacrosse or Hockey can be slid over the handle of theLacrosse/Hockey stick and transported that way. Either way while thegloves are not being used they are being deodorized—removing thesmell/moisture and bacteria while not compromising the shape or comfortof the glove to the athlete.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the embodiments of the presentinvention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinaryskill in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of thespecification, which makes reference to the appended Figs, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a prospective front view of an embodiment ofdeodorizing sticks.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of the handle and bottom locking capsaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of an interlocking mechanism of adeodorizing stick according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B illustrate a prospective front view of perforatedshafts according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B illustrate a side view of a perforated shaft andinterlocking mechanism according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrate a side view of each half of a perforatedshaft according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of an insert according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates measurements of a deodorizing stick according to oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments in FIGS. 1-6 illustrate embodiments that are intendedfor use by individuals who wish to deodorize athletic gloves by removingthe smell and/or moisture and bacteria of the gloves. These concepts ofthese embodiments can be also be used for athletic shoes andnon-athletic gloves and shoes.

FIG. 1A illustrates a front view of an embodiment in a stick shape. Eachstick has a removable top cap (30) and a bottom locking cap (10). Inthis embodiment, the removable cap (30) interlocks with the outerhousing shaft (40) in order to remove and replace the deodorizing andmoisture absorbing removable insert (130) when needed. The bottomlocking cap (10) can be permanently attached to outer housing shaft (40)in order for handle (70) to be secure. The outer housing shaft (40) hasventilation holes (20) so that air can travel in and out of the stick.This design allows the deodorizing and moisture absorbing material inthe moisture absorbing removable insert (130) to effectively remove themoisture and odor from the glove without having direct contact with theglove. In this embodiment, the handle (70) is braided. Alternateembodiments include fixed hard plastic handles or a solid connectionbetween the sticks. The handle (70) connects the first deodorizing stick(140) and second deodorizing stick (150). The handle (70) also can beused to transport the sticks or for storing. The wrist guard clip (50)attaches to the both sides of the handle (70) by an elastic bungee cord(60). The wrist guard clip (50) secures the sticks to the athleticgloves and prevents the gloves from sliding off of the first (140) andsecond deodorizing sticks (150). For example, when used with Lacrossegloves, the two sticks can be inserted into the two gloves, and theelastic bungee cord (60) can be connected between the two sticks in amanner that includes the player's Lacrosse stick (not shown) inside theloop created by the handle (70) and the elastic bungee cord (60). Thisallows the player to carry the gloves on the Lacrosse stick. Similarconnection and carrying concepts can be used with other sports equipmentas well.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of the first deodorizing stick (140) andsecond deodorizing stick (150) connected by the handle (70).

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the interlocking mechanism used tosecure and attach the removable cap (30) to the outer housing shaft(40). In this embodiment, the outer housing shaft (40) interlocks withthe removable cap (30) by means of an indented notch (90) on the innerhousing cap (80), as shown in FIG. 4. However, alternativeconfigurations can be used to provide an interlocking mechanism in orderto attach and remove the removable cap (30). The removable insert (130)can be removed and replaced in the opening aperture (100) as shown inFIG. 4. This embodiment uses a screw off design. Alternate embodimentsinclude utilizing a screw top or access point on the top of the outerhousing shaft (40) or inner housing cap (80) where the handle (70)affixes to the outer housing shaft (40).

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a streamlined view of the deodorizing stick.FIG. 3A illustrates an alternate embodiment where the tube width isadjusted to align with the bottom locking cap (10) and removable top cap(30).

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a side view of the interlocking mechanismused to remove and replace the insert (130) when needed. The figureillustrates the removable top cap (30) detached from the outer housingshaft (40). In the preferred embodiment, the outer housing shaft (40)interlocks with the removable cap (30) by means of an indented notch(90) on the inner housing cap (80). The removable top cap (30) can beeither attached to the outer housing shaft (40) or detached to the outerhousing shaft (40). This removable cap (30) allows the user to removeand replace the removable insert (130) when needed. Alternateembodiments include such as using a flip cap, or rubber slip cap may beused to remove the removable cap (30).

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a side view of the first half (110) of theouter housing shaft (40) and the second half (120) of the outer housingshaft (40). This view illustrates the configuration of the outer housingshaft (40) in which the ventilation holes (20) are designed to helpdiffuse the deodorizer in the removable insert (130) into the glove toremove the odor from the glove.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the removable insert (130). In thisembodiment, the insert contains approximately 7.5 grams of scentedsilica gel plus 7.5 grams of activated carbon to effectively remove thesmell, moisture, and bacteria from the user's glove while notcompromising the shape or comfort of the glove to the user. It has beenfound that this ratio and amount provides effective moisture removalwithout an overbearing fragrance for athletic equipment. In thisembodiment, the removable insert (130) has a width of approximately 2 cmand a length of 18 cm. However, alternate embodiments may includemeasurements in which the removable insert (130) is shaped appropriatelyto fit inside the shape of the stick or other shaped deodorizing insert.

FIG. 7 illustrates the dimensions of a deodorizing stick in oneembodiment. Distance A (160) illustrates that the distance between thebottom locking cap (10) and removable top cap (30) is about 156 mm.Distance B (170) illustrates the length of the removable top cap, whichis about 17 mm Distance C (180) illustrates the length of the bottomlocking cap, which is about 27 mm. Distance D (190) illustrates thelength of the entire deodorizing stick, which is about 200 mm.Dimensions of an embodiment of the stick can be roughly 7 and ½ incheslong, ¾ of an inch wide and connected by a cord handle that is roughly 6inches long.

In addition to having deodorizing replaceable inserts (130), the plasticused to create the stick can be infused with an antimicrobial solutionsuch as the commercially available Silver Shield (™) Antimicrobialsolution. By embedding the plastic with this solution or other silverion solutions, the embedded plastic itself can inhibit the growth ofodor causing bacteria. Of course, the antimicrobial product is notlimited to Silver Shield. Other suitable antimicrobial products may beused. Embodiments can also be used without the handle in appropriateapplications, and the invention is not limited to any particular size,as it may be shortened or lengthened to fit many size products.

The embodiments described above and variations thereof can be used as apair or separately to deodorize, absorb moisture, and fight bacteria involleyball knee pads, soccer shin guards, elbow pads, all types ofactive shoes, cleats, ski boots, cowboy boots and boots for recreationalpurposes. These embodiments may be inserted into a bag or used inconjunction with a perforated bag or perforated antimicrobial bag toprevent odor, absorb moisture and fight bacteria.

Additional details and dimensions of a preferred embodiment include:

Tube (but not limited to this material or shape)

Material: ABS Plastic with Injected Silver Seal

Parts:

1. Tube

2. Top Cap

3. Bottom Locking Cap

Handle (but not limited to this material)

Material: Woven Paracord, Elastic, Aluminum

Parts:

1. Paracord handle (˜6 inches in length) (handle could be longer orshorter depending on use)

2. Elastic Bungee Cord

3. Aluminum Snap Clip

Insert (but not limited to this material or ingredients)

Material: 7.5 g scented silica gel+7.5 g activated carbon

Dimensions: 2 cm (W)×18 cm (L)

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for insertion within sports equipmentcomprising: an enclosure having ventilation holes and two caps, at leastone of the caps being a removable cap, said enclosure being comprised ofplastic that is infused with antimicrobial ions and configured withoutlateral extensions that restrict the enclosure from contacting aninternal surface of the sports equipment when inserted into the sportsequipment; a removable insert displaced within said enclosure, saidinsert including a moisture absorbing deodorizer.
 2. A device accordingto claim 1, wherein said ions include silver ions.
 3. A device accordingto claim 2, wherein said device is shaped as a tube to fit inside aglove.
 4. A pair of devices according to claim 3, further comprising astrap connecting said pair of devices to each other.
 5. A pair ofdevices according to claim 4, further comprising a clip strap connectedto one of said devices with a clip at the other end of the clip strapfor connecting to said other device.
 6. A pair of devices according toclaim 4, wherein said strap is made from paracord.
 7. A device accordingto claim 3, wherein said enclosure is approximately 7.5 inches in lengthand ¾ inches wide.
 8. A device according to claim 7, wherein saidremovable insert includes approximately 50% scented silica andapproximately 50% unscented silica.
 9. A device according to claim 8,wherein said removable insert is approximately 18 cm long andapproximately 2 cm wide.
 10. A device according to claim 7, wherein saidremovable insert includes approximately 7.5 g scented silica gel andapproximately 7.5 g activated carbon.
 11. A device according to claim 1,wherein said enclosure maintains a formed shape, and said removableinsert is a container that includes said moisture absorbing deodorizer.12. A device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the caps iswider than the remainder of the enclosure.
 13. A device according toclaim 1, wherein said plastic comprises ABS plastic.
 14. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one removablecap attaches to the enclosure via an indented notch and groove matingbetween the inside surface of the at least one of the at least oneremovable cap and the enclosure.
 15. A device for insertion withinsports equipment comprising: a cylindrical enclosure having ventilationholes extending over about 156 mm of the cylindrical enclosure, thecylindrical enclosure having two caps, at least one of the caps being aremovable cap, the cylindrical enclosure being comprised of plastic thatis infused with antimicrobial ions and configured without lateralextensions that restrict the cylindrical enclosure from resting on aninternal surface of the sports equipment when inserted into the sportsequipment; a removable insert displaced within said cylindricalenclosure, said insert including a moisture absorbing deodorizer.
 16. Adevice according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the at least oneremovable cap attaches to the cylindrical enclosure via an indentednotch and groove mating between the inside surface of the at least oneof the at least one removable cap and the cylindrical enclosure.
 17. Apair of devices according to claim 15, further comprising a strapconnecting said pair of devices to each other.
 18. A system including: asports equipment; an enclosure having ventilation holes and two caps, atleast one of the caps being a removable cap, said enclosure beingcomprised of plastic that is infused with antimicrobial ions andinserted into the sports equipment and contacting an internal surface ofthe sports equipment; a removable insert displaced within saidenclosure, said insert including a moisture absorbing deodorizer.